Paul

Paul of Tarsus, born Saul, was a Pharisee and Roman citizen from Tarsus in Cilicia who became the most influential missionary of early Christianity. Initially a zealous persecutor of the church (Acts 8:3; Galatians 1:13–14), he was dramatically converted on the road to Damascus by an encounter with the risen Christ (Acts 9). He undertook at least three missionary journeys across Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Greece, establishing communities in cities such as Corinth, Philippi, Ephesus, and Thessalonica. His thirteen epistles in the New Testament form the earliest written theological reflection on the significance of Jesus Christ, developing key doctrines of justification by faith, the Body of Christ, and the inclusion of Gentiles in God's covenant. Tradition holds that he was martyred in Rome under Nero around 64–67 CE.